API keys for the GolfCore Course Data API

Keyless access ends December 4, 2026 The MCP server stays keyless

What changes

https://api.golfcore.org/v1/courses and https://api.golfcore.org/v1/courses/{slug} will need an API key from December 4, 2026. Until then they answer with or without one, and keyless responses carry Deprecation and Sunset headers naming the date. /v1/status stays open. The MCP server at https://mcp.golfcore.org/mcp stays keyless, so AI assistants that use GolfCore keep working without any change.

Plans

Free $0 500 requests a month, up to 10 a minute. Requests stop at 500 until the month resets. Get a Free key

Starter $10 a month 10,000 requests a month, up to 60 a minute. Then $2.00 per 1,000 requests, with no cap unless you set one. Subscribe to Starter

Pro $50 a month 100,000 requests a month, up to 300 a minute. Then $1.00 per 1,000 requests, with no cap unless you set one. Subscribe to Pro

Each request to /v1/courses or /v1/courses/{slug} counts as one. Months run on UTC and reset on the first. All three plans are open now in the developer portal. Starter and Pro have no monthly cap: requests past the plan are billed per 1,000. If you want a ceiling, set a monthly cap in the portal, and requests stop when it is reached, so a bill can never run past it.

Three steps

Get a key

Sign in at platform.golfcore.app with your GolfCore account, accept the API terms, and create a key. A Free plan is set up for you. The secret is shown once, so store it in your server's configuration. Keys start gc_live_.

Keep keys on your server. Never put one in a mobile app, browser code or a public repository, because anyone holding it spends your allowance. A revoked key stops working shortly after you revoke it.

Send it

curl "https://api.golfcore.org/v1/courses/pebble-beach" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer gc_live_..."

Read the limits

Every keyed response carries X-RateLimit-Limit, X-RateLimit-Remaining and X-RateLimit-Reset (Unix seconds) for the month. Keyed responses are not cached, so cache them on your side.

Status	Meaning
`401 invalid_api_key`	The key is unknown, revoked, expired or for the other environment.
`429 rate_limited`	Over the per-minute limit. Retry after `Retry-After` seconds.
`429 quota_exceeded`	The Free allowance or the monthly cap you set is used. Upgrade, raise or remove the cap, or wait for the reset.

Common questions

When does keyless access to the GolfCore Course Data API end?

On December 4, 2026. After that, /v1/courses and /v1/courses/{slug} need an API key. The MCP server at mcp.golfcore.org stays keyless.

What does the Free plan include?

500 requests a month at up to 10 a minute, at no cost. Requests stop at 500 until the month resets on the first, UTC.

How is overage priced?

Starter is $10 a month for 10,000 requests, then $2.00 per 1,000. Pro is $50 a month for 100,000 requests, then $1.00 per 1,000. There is no monthly cap unless you set one in the developer portal.

How do I get an API key?

Sign in at platform.golfcore.app with your GolfCore account, accept the API terms and create a key. A Free plan is set up automatically, and the secret is shown once.

Terms

Attribution stays required: cite GolfCore and link the course page. Course data may not be resold, redistributed or used to build a competing API. Terms of use.

The Course Data API is moving to keys.